


What The Water Gave Me

by Krit



Category: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, M/M, Suicide Attempt, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-06 03:43:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20284834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krit/pseuds/Krit
Summary: Goodnight has plans for a new life.The sea has other plans for him.





	What The Water Gave Me

**Author's Note:**

> There is some 'monster dick' involved. I took liberties with what a merman might be packing and what it can do.
> 
> ARTWORK BY EDNA  
https://3dna5cissorhands.tumblr.com/

[](https://ibb.co/kByynbd)

~*~

“There’s good trading in Japan.” That’s what that snake oil son of a bitch had told him. And if Goodnight ever got his hands on that little weasel… But it didn’t matter. The bastard was probably somewhere in Arizona by now, and Goodnight was on a suspiciously sad looking ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. What did anything matter anymore?

Seasick and exhausted, Goodnight leaned on the dry rotted railing and looked up at the clouds rolling fast above him. He had no idea what time it was. Early. Too early. The sun had barely begun to rise. He had tossed and turned, and dozed off, woken up in fits, and barely calmed himself back to sleep more than a few times.

The wind was cold and quick. Cutting into him. The sound of the sails billowing. The snapping almost sharp enough to sound like gunfire. Goodnight flinches and watches the clouds. The quickly greying clouds. The ship heaves. The waves growing and crashing against them. Goodnight digs his fingernails into the wood and clenches his teeth. He can feel his heart pounding in his chest. Lightning cracks across the sky, sharp and bright. The roaring thunder right on top of it. The rain doesn’t so much start to fall as it does pour. Like the heavens themselves opened up and dumped half the ocean on top of them. The ship heaves again, tilting further this time, and Goodnight clings to the railing. A deafening crack snaps through the din, and Goodnight looks up to see the main mast snapped in half like a damn toothpick. It leaned and then it fell. Thankfully not crashing down on top of Goodnight. His feet slipped, and he tried to keep his balance. He could hear the faint shouts of the sailors through the storm. There were a few other traveling merchants below deck. Goodnight wondered if they were alright. Another bolt of lightning. More thunder. Goodnight was shouting into the wind. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t stand. Clinging to the railing, he prayed to a god he barely believed in, that he would make it through the day. Another terrible cracking sound. Before he could wonder what it was, he was falling. The broken piece of railing still in his arms as he plummeted off the ship and into the sea.

The water was warm. He hadn’t expected that. The storm sounded muted under the surface. Like it was happening so far away. But it was the only way he knew which way the surface was. The crack of lightning sounded overhead, almost at the same time as a roll of thunder. And then screaming. Goodnight’s heart stopped. The ship must be on fire. But he didn’t have time to worry about that.

Goodnight had seen a shark once. But he was close to the shore, and the shark was a ways away. This was different. He’d known for some time that death was coming for him. Though it was an owl’s talons he’d always feared. Not a shark’s teeth. The giant fish came nearer, picking up speed, and Goodnight felt a rush of calm acceptance run through him. After fearing it and running from it for so long, the Angel of Death was ready to die.

A flash of something. Glowing bright, reflecting the light from above. And the shark no longer seemed interested in him. It darted to the side, and there was that flash of color again. Blood was coming from the shark. There was a cloud of it. Goodnight was frozen. It had only been seconds since he hit the water, but time seemed to stand still. Suddenly, there was something in front. Of him. The shine of yellow and orange glinting in the water. A tail that seemed to go on for days, with billowing fins. But then… A man. A broad chest and muscular arms. Long black hair, and- the most beautiful face he had ever seen. He stared, awestruck, not wanting to even blink for fear that this magnificent creature would disappear. But the burning in his lungs became too much to ignore.

He kicked and struggled to swim up to the surface. But the weight of his boots. The lack of sleep. That peaceful calm he had felt when the shark was coming for him. Before….

Strong arms wrapped around him, holding him back against a broad chest. Goodnight felt small in the embrace. Protected. Suddenly- he could breathe. The wind was slower than before. The time between flashes of lightning and the roaring thunder, longer and drawn out. The rain had ebbed to something less apocalyptic. It was still pouring. The waves still wild. But it all seemed less… The arms were still holding him. A deep, melodic voice sounded in his ear. He didn’t understand the language. There seemed to be more than one.

“What about English? Most of the humans passing by this way seem to speak English lately.”

“Yes!” Goodnight gasped out, confused as hell and operating on instinct. This… man, this creature, whatever he was, and Goodnight was only assuming masculinity based on the hard chest and facial hair, and now the voice, but who could even say for sure. Whatever he was, he spoke English. Goodnight could work with that.

He looked to the side and saw the burning broken wreckage that was once a decrepit old ship. He couldn’t see any of the few dozen men that had been on board.

“We should go.” That voice in his ear. Goodnight shivered, and it had nothing to do with being soaking wet. The man wasn’t warm like a human man. He was the same temperature as the sea. Goodnight wondered how he felt in his arms. Did it feel good to hold something so much warmer than himself? When was the last time Goodnight had held someone warm in his arms? The last time someone had held him? He’d been having a fit. And the arms around him were restricting, restraining, trapping him. This… This was different. He was being helped. Saved. Protected.

“Go where?” He managed to sputter out.

“Try not to breathe.”

Before he could even think of a response to that, he was being propelled through the water. Away from the ruins of the ship. Into the vast nothing. Out to sea. It was all he could do, to hold his breath as much as possible, and let this strange fish man take him wherever he pleased. Goodnight just hoped he wasn’t going to be dessert. Did human meat pair well with shark? He’d have to ask.

It felt like hours, and it very well may have been, with the sun positioned much higher in the sky, but Goodnight finally saw land. A white sand beach, leading into a thick forest. As they swam closer, the- whatever he was- began to slow. As they swam into the shallows, he released Goodnight, who promptly faceplanted into the clear water. When he sat up, sputtering, he saw that his companion was staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Thank you?” Goodnight tried. He assumed that he was being rescued.

The creature cocked its head to the side and gave a small smile. “You’re welcome. What should I call you?”

Goodnight sat up straighter in the shallow water and cleared his throat, squaring his shoulders. “Eugene Girard Robicheaux, but please, do call me Goodnight. I am forever in your debt mister….” He trailed off, extending a hand in his companion’s direction. The creature- man? seemed to be sitting on his own tail, resting upright as he watched Goodnight with amusement.

“You can call me Billy.” He replied. “Some men call me Billy Rocks.” He took Goodnight’s hand and shook it firmly. Then he gestured to the shore. “You should be safe here. There are no real predators. Lots of shelter and fish. Plants you can eat as well.” He moved as though to leave.

“Wait! Where are you going? You’ll be back, right?” Goodnight didn’t like how frantic his own voice sounded. But he didn’t fancy the idea of living alone on a deserted island with no company but nontalking fish. Billy looked at him, considering.

“I can come back tomorrow. To check on you. Make sure you didn’t die in the night.” His little smile returned. “If you can’t manage to make your own shelter, there’s a cave about a mile deep into the trees.” He pursed his lips, as if wanting to say more. “Eat something and get some rest.” He settled on; and headed back out into the open sea.

Goodnight picked himself up; and clambered up towards what he supposed was his new home.

~*~

The rest of the day and subsequent evening were… challenging. Goodnight found a long stick and sharpened the edge to turn it into a sort of spear. He then spent the better part of three hours trying to skewer a fish. He did not succeed.

He explored the tiny jungle, in search of those edible plants Billy had told him about, and quickly realized that he had no idea how to discern which plants were the edible ones.

He tried to fashion some of the larger branches and palms into a sort of lean-to, using vines to tie it all together. It did not work.

By the time the moon was high in the sky, Goodnight was curled up on the sand inside of the cave, with an empty belly, drifting off to sleep after a day of exhausting failures. The notion that he was going to die out here, completely devoid of any survival skills as he was, weighed heavy on his mind.

~*~

He woke to someone calling his name. He dragged himself up and wandered deeper into the cave. He came upon what seemed to be a large pool, the clear water showing a tunnel deep under the surface that must lead to the ocean, because in the pool, half out of the water, arms resting on the sandy edge, was Billy. In front of him was a pile of fish. The morning sun shone through a large hole in the ceiling of the cave, illuminating the space and reflecting off of Billy’s scales. Flecks of something shiny glittered in the rock walls, giving the moment an ethereal sort of atmosphere.

“What are you?” Goodnight finally asked.

Billy raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “I’ve been called a lot of things.”

“What do your people call themselves?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been alone since…” He sighed. “For a very long time. There’s much I don’t know about myself or my people.”

“Is that why you saved me? Have you done this before? Scavenging shipwrecks for humans in peril, and then you bring them here, and… And then what?” Goodnight flapped his arms wildly.

Billy scowled. “No. It’s not like that. I’ve talked to humans before. Lots of them. But never for very long. If they don’t try to capture or kill me, their shipmates do. Mostly I follow ships and listen to them talk to each other. Listen to them sing. I’ve never brought any human here before. This… I like it here. It’s nice.”

“If you’ve never brought anyone here, then how did you know there weren’t any predators? Or that there are edible plants?”

“The owl told me.”

“The what, now?” Goodnight felt the blood drain from his face. He had heard an owl hooting all night, but he thought it had been his owl. “There’s an owl on this island?”

“A few of them. They mostly keep to themselves, but sometimes we talk.” He shrugged, and then looked at Goodnight with a thoughtful expression. “You don’t like owls, do you?”

“No, I do not.” He rasped out. He looked around for a change of subject and his eyes landed again on the pile of fish. “Are those for me?”

“For both of us. I had a feeling you’d be hungry.”

“Wonderful! Thank you! Let me just get a fire going. Now, that I can do. A little harder without matches, but we used to do it all the time during the war. Saved the matches for when we really needed em.” Goodnight rambled as he wandered back out towards where he had slept the night before, and gathered up the sticks and dead leaves he had collected for a fire. He brought them back near the pool and set to work under Billy’s curious and attentive eye.

“What are you doing?”

“Making a fire?”

“Why?”

“To… cook… the fish?”

Goodnight and Billy stared at each other for a moment, each of them with a monumentally confused look on his face. Finally, the fire sparked to life and Goodnight whooped triumphantly. He grabbed one of the fish from the pile and impaled it on a long stick which he held over the flames. He heard splashing, and looked up to see Billy frantically pacing in the water.

“What are you doing?” He asked again. “Why are you doing that?!” He looked distraught and confused, and almost as though he were trying to figure out how to launch out of the water and stop him. Goodnight raised an eyebrow and looked from Billy to his breakfast.

“Well… I have to cook it!”

“Why?!”

“Because I’ll get sick if I don’t!” Goodnight laughed at the distraught look on Billy’s face. “It’s alright! It tastes quite good this way as a matter of fact.”

Billy’s face scrunched in disgust. “You’re ruining it.” He huffed, before grabbing another fish from the pile and ripping into it with his teeth. His teeth, which Goodnight was now noticing for the first time, which were rather sharp. He remembered the day before. The shark. The blood in the water. He had read in a book once that a shark’s skin was quite thick and durable. He tried not to shudder. Billy had saved his life. He was no threat. When the fish was adequately cooked, Goodnight ripped it apart with his hands and dug out the warm meat, moaning delightedly as he ate, and only laughing a little at Billy’s expression.

~*~

The days passed in a fairly similar fashion. Billy would sometimes swim up into the shallows and watch Goodnight try to fish for an hour or two before doing it for him. He did tell him which plants were safe to eat, and while Goodnight was a little weary about the fact that the information came from a fucking owl, he ate the weird looking fruit and was none the worse for wear. Billy was often nearby. Sprawled in the shallows of the beach, or lounging in the cave pool. Goodnight wondered if Billy could come on land, but when he asked, he was met with slightly incredulous laughter.

“How exactly would I go about doing that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe your tail can magically transform into legs.” At Billy’s raised eyebrow, he threw his hands in the air. “I don’t know! I never thought anything like you existed! Excuse me for not knowing how it works!”

Billy’s laughter was throaty and melodic. And Goodnight found himself wanting to be the cause for it every day.

~*~

“The luminescence of your scales/ shining golden in the rays of the morning sun/ I could sit and drink in your beauty/ for all my days and never…” Goodnight scrunched his nose, deep in thought. “Hm. No, I don’t know if any of that is any good.” He sighed. It had been nearly three months since the wreck, since meeting Billy, and Goodnight was finding himself growing more and more attached to his companion. As well as rather fond. Composing odes to the merman’s beauty had become a rather enjoyable way to spend the hours spent without him.

“All eternity is not enough/ To list the boundless wealth of your-“

“What are you doing?”

Goodnight let out what was most certainly not a high pitched scream as he spun around, tripped over his own feet, and crashed down into the water. Sitting down, it was just about to his collarbones. “What am I doing?! What are you doing?! Sneaking up on a man like that, you’re like to give him a heart attack! You know, that happened to a great uncle of mine. He was barely fifty, and one day-“

“His son jumped out from behind a door to startle him, and the man dropped dead, his heart exploded in his chest.” Billy finished, deadpanned. “Yes, Goody, you’ve told me that one.” His face was impassive, but Goodnight had long since learned to spot the laughter in his eyes. “Now, whose beauty was it you were drinking in?” A perfect eyebrow rose on his forehead.

“Well! Just… No one!” Goodnight flustered, his hands waving about in the water. “A sweet southern belle I knew back home, long ago. Fond memories and all that.”

“You said something about luminescent scales.” The corner of Billy’s mouth twitched, as though it was taking all of his effort to suppress a smile.

“Yes. Well.” Goodnight stared at him, unable to come up with anything. Which was rare for him. He used to be able to talk his way out of any and all situations. But in the face of Billy… Goodnight found it impossible to give him anything less than his open and honest heart. “Fine.” He murmured. “You can’t blame me. A man sees someone like you, day in and day out, he’s allowed to succumb to fits of flowery prose and freeform poetry.”

“The likes of me?”

“Your beauty is without comparison. And you… You are the truest and most…” He let out a weak, defeated laugh. “Well, you’re just the best damn person I’ve ever met.”

Billy eyed him with curiosity and moved closer. This close to shore, with the water so shallow, it was a bit of an effort. He came up into Goodnight’s space, their faces inches apart. “I like you, Goodnight.” He stated, as though sharing an interesting and peculiar pierce of trivia. “I’ve met many men over the years. But none like you. I think… I would like to know you more.”

“How do you mean?” Goodnight breathed out. He was suddenly very aware that he was completely naked. After the first month, his clothes weren’t worth salvaging. Neither he nor Billy had really batted an eye at him going about bare in the time since, but now… Now was different.

Billy didn’t answer him. Not with words, anyhow. Resting his weight on his tail, he sat in the water, just staring at him for a moment. And then, with a small nod of his head, he took Goodnight’s face in his hands and pressed the softest of kisses to Goodnight’s lips. Goodnight rose up on his knees and kissed him back, burying his fingers in Billy’s thick hair like he had longed to do for months now. It was slick and smooth, and oh so soft. Goodnight let out a happy sigh, and Billy deepened the kiss, licking into his mouth, almost tentatively at first, and then bolder at the sound that came from Goodnight.  
They stayed like that for some time. Until The sun set, and Goodnight’s ski became wrinkled. When Billy left, he pressed one last small kiss to Goodnight’s lips.

“I’ll see you in the morning.” He promised.

  
That night, not even the owl disrupted his sleep. He dreamed only of soft hair and softer lips.

~*~

“I’ve figured it out!” Goodnight exclaimed the next day, as he ate his breakfast. Billy was leaning on the edge of the cave pool, his head resting on his folded arms as he looked at him in amusement.

“Figured what out?”

“Well, it’s been botherin me why, even though it must be hotter here than back home, it doesn’t feel like it! It’s that nice ocean breeze! Back home, you couldn’t get so much as a little wisp of fresh air, much though you’d pretend you could. Most of the time, I’d just open up the windows, drink a peach bellini, and languish. You can’t really languish properly when it’s under ninety degrees, so I suppose it was for the best. The stuffy air, and profuse sweat really added to the aesthetic of it all.”

Billy hummed thoughtfully. “I could see you languishing. Fanning yourself with a tired hand, pressing your drink to your forehead.” His smile was soft and subtle, but Goodnight knew he was being thoroughly teased. “‘Oh goodness gracious, this dreadful heat!’” Billy drawled in an exaggerated mockery of Goodnight’s accent.   
  
“Hey now!” Goodnight tried to sound indignant, but couldn’t stop laughing.   
  
Billy cackled and slipped off the ledge, back into the water, sinking down until just his eyes were above the surface.   
  
“Don’t think I won’t come in there after you!”  
  
Billy fully submerged himself, swimming in circles in the large pool.   
  
“Alright, mon cher, you asked for it!”  
  
Goodnight slipped into the water and tried to grab at him. To say that Billy was swifter and more graceful than Goodnight would be a woeful understatement. Goodnight flailed and splashed, failing to grasp Billy’s arms, and squealing in delight when Billy pulled his ankles every time he came up for air.   
  
Before he knew what was happening, Goodnight found himself pressed back against the rock wall of the pool. Billy’s arms caging him in, a feral grin on his face.   
  
“I caught you!”  
  
Goodnight panted slightly with a teasing smirk. “Yeah? And what do you plan to do with me?”  
  
The kiss was in no way unexpected. But Goodnight gasped all the same. Billy’s mouth was hot and wet and soft, and Goodnight couldn’t help but moan and wrap his arms around his shoulders, holding on for dear life. His cock stirred as it rubbed against the slick smooth scales of Billy’s magnificent tail. He wanted... something. Anything. And anything was what he got. The sleek tail shifted against him, something moving under the skin.   
  
Goodnight pulled away from the kids to look down, watching as something emerged from a previously unseen opening in Billy’s tail. It was...   
  
“Well, would ya look at that? I’ll be!”  
  
It was clearly genitalia. It could even almost be mistaken for a human man’s at first glance. In the dark. By someone with poor eyesight. It was certainly phalic, and matching the skin tone of the human half of him. But it had... ridges and bumps. And it seemed to almost... wiggle.   
  
“Can I touch it?”  
  
“By all means.” Billy’s smile was teasing and sultry, but there was an edge of uncertainty. Goodnight spared a moment to wonder how many people had been frightened off by the considerable -and once he got his hand around it, he could see just how considerable- member he was hiding. Goodnight’s fingers barely met around the base of it. And it was... slick. Not like his scales, but almost... slippery, and not from the water. Goodnight wondered if he could just...  
  
“God damn.” He whispered harshly. “I’m gonna need this inside me at some point. Preferably soon, if that’s alright with you, cher.”  
  
Billy’s laugh was throaty and rough. A beautiful sound that nearly had Goodnight panting. Billy grabbed him by the backs of his thighs, holding him up, back pressed against the rock wall of the pool. It was smooth stone that was cold and unyielding. It felt like heaven against his heated flesh. He wrapped his legs around Billy, his feet slipping down against that beautiful flowing tail. He could see the bright scales shimmer and shine under the water, like a sunset in a dream. He felt drugged. He felt safe. He wrapped his arms around Billy’s neck and kissed him deeply once more.   
  
“Take me, cher.” He murmured against his lips. “I’m yours.”  
  
“Goody.” Billy moaned in a deep rumble.   
  
The press of the large slick member against his entrance was both foreign and familiar. The stretch and slide of it was easier than anything he’d ever taken. The shape was off slightly, almost the same as a human’s, but noticeably different. It seemed to curve and move slightly inside of him, pressing against all the best places. Goodnight was a keening and whimpering mess within moments, clinging to his lover and trying to rock his hips down into the sensations. Billy moved against him, writhing and thrusting, strong solid muscle and soft smooth scales. His tail curled up around them, the splayed fins caressing Goodnight’s sides and legs. The slick member undulated inside of him, thrusting and rubbing, caressing his prostate like he was trying to just coax the orgasm out of him. Goodnight began to tremble, grasping at his lover with wet fingers. “S'il te plait, mon amour. Laisse moi...” Billy huffed a laugh and wrapped his hand around Goodnight’s cock. “Come for me, Goody.” He rumbled. As Goodnight came with a drawn out cry, he felt the member inside of him pulse and shift. Like it was expanding inside of him. Billy pressed his face to his neck and the noise that came from him was something Goodnight could only describe as inhuman.

~*~

The days passed by in something of a pleasant haze. Everything was calm and beautiful. Even his dreams had quieted. The owl in the forest no longer frightened him.

Months passed, marked only by the changing of the moon. Some nights, he and Billy would lounge in the shallows, and gaze at the stars, naming constellations, and telling stories. Billy would curl his tail around him, so he could lean against him, upright in the water. Goodnight always felt safest and most at ease with Billy wrapped around him.

They caught fish in the mornings, made love in the afternoons, and kept lazy company in the evenings. Billy had taken to sleeping in the pool in the cave so that he was always as near Goodnight as he could be.

~*~

One morning, Goodnight’s blood froze as he saw a ship approaching.

“Billy, you have to go!”

Billy scowled, his face growing pale as he turned to face the open sea. “They won’t come here. No one ever- “

“Billy, please! If they do… If they see you…” Goodnight’s voice was frantic. The ship was getting closer. Not a large vessel. But large enough. Certainly with weapons aboard. Certainly with men aboard who would love to kill or capture someone as exquisite as Billy.

Billy let out a huff and nodded. “I’ll be back tonight.” He promised. And with that, he swam away, off into the depths of the sea.

Goodnight turned and ran, up the beach, and into the forest. He made his way to his cave. Even if the sailors, or whoever they were, came ashore, they wouldn’t find him there.

But of course, Goodnight’s luck was never meant to last.

“In here, boys!” He heard from the mouth of the cave. He didn’t know what to do. There was nowhere to run. The tunnels that fed the pool from the ocean were too long for him to be able to hold his breath. Footsteps approached, and a man stepped into Goodnight’s home. “By god!” The man gasped. He was a straggly looking thing. Muscled and covered in wirey blonde hair, and an unkempt beard. His accent sounded strange. Like he’d never stayed in one place long enough to develop a proper one, and just mashed a bunch together. “How in the world did you get here?!” He asked, astonished. He removed his long coat and held it out. Only then, did Goodnight remember that he was as naked as the day he was born. He took the coat and wrapped himself up, the fabric feeling strange and rough on his skin. But he hadn’t been away from civilization so long that he forgot most folks felt uncomfortable flagrant nudity.

“I… I live here.” He replied, weakly. “Thank you for your concern, but I’m really quite alright. Happy, in fact. So, you and yours are welcome to be on your merry way.”

The man looked at him with something like pity and wrapped an arm around him. “It’s alright now. You’re safe. You just come with me.” He half dragged a protesting Goodnight back out to the entrance of the cave. A gaggle of men stood around, staring at him in shock. “Poor thing’s gone half mad.” The blonde man told them. Goodnight squawked in protest. “Been here far too long, I think. Who knows how long.”

“A little over a year, thank you very much. And as I’ve said, this is my home, so I would thank all of you to be going now.” He could feel his face flush in anger, and his hand tremble in fear. They were going to force him to go with them. He would have to leave. Leave his island. Leave Billy. _I didn’t even get to say goodbye._ He thought, mournfully. The tears welled in his eyes, and he couldn’t hold back his quiet sobs as the men led him back to their ship.

~*~

They took him to some Spanish occupied island that they told him was just south of Japan. His original destination. He didn’t speak to them much at all. Just stared blankly ahead and exchanged pleasantries when absolutely necessary.

The island was… Well. It wasn’t _his_ island. Too many people. Too much noise. A simple set up, barely what he would’ve considered civilized not too long ago. But it was too much now. He tried to move forward. He truly did. But it was hollow. He was empty. Devoid of joy or motivation. He could barely bring himself to get out of bed and eat most days. People spoke to him, but it was as if they were far away. Or under water. Goodnight wanted to go home. He wanted Billy. Billy _was_ his home.

It didn’t take long for him to make up his mind.

~*~

One particularly humid morning, Goodnight wandered up the hills lining the island. He made his way to a jagged cliff with a steep ledge. The drop must’ve been a good fifty feet at least. The waved lapped at the rock with alluring sea foam. It was beautiful. Goodnight stripped down, naked in the soft glow of the sunrise. He stared out across the ocean. He wondered if Billy would know. Maybe this would help make sure some part of him would always be with him. His soul bound to the sea.

Taking one last soft breath, Goodnight jumped.

~*~

He hit the water hard and fast. Painful and with one quick shock, he was reminded of his fall from the ship over a year before. When all this started. He almost half expected to see the shark. And Billy. But it was different this time. The fall was higher, and he had sunk deeper. He could barely see a thing, let alone the light far above him. He released the air from his lungs and relaxed, letting the water take him.

But it didn’t. He didn’t feel the burn of drowning. The sea around him grew clearer. His vision sharpening in the darkness to see fish and seaweed. A dull ache grew in his hips and legs. He looked down to see his lower half fusing together. The flesh smoothing and growing and shifting into a long tail. Not quite as long as Billy’s, but still impressive. The scales were pale blue with a luminescent oil slick shine that reminded him of the herrings he used to catch back home. His fins weren’t fanned and flowing like Billy’s, but short and fluttering, with one long one running up the back.

Staring down at himself in awe, he didn’t even notice that he was being approached until a familiar hand cupped his face.

“You came back to me.” Billy’s voice was crisp and clear in the water as Goodnight looked up at him.

“I couldn’t live without you.” He confessed.

“And now you never have to.” Billy smiled and kissed him. Softly, passionately, reverently. “Let’s go home.”

He slipped away and began to swim off, Goodnight steadfast by his side.


End file.
